Chapter 2
Mia immediately stepped forward.
Mia said, "How could you not like it? Landon handpicked it for you, and that's almost 300,000 dollars right there."
Landon's face darkened.
"Summer, stop making a scene," he said.
Those words felt like needles stabbing right into my heart.
How many times would my future self hear "stop making a scene" for the sake of marriage, the kids, and keeping up appearances?
I yanked off my veil.
"Landon, I said I don't like it," I told him.
"Don't you get it?"
The bridal boutique went dead silent.
Landon's eyes flashed with annoyance.
Mia quickly tried to smooth things over.
"Summer's probably got pre-wedding jitters. Landon, don't mind her," Mia said.
I gave a cold chuckle.
"Mia, since when did you start making decisions for him?" I retorted.
Her face went pale.
Landon lowered his voice.
"Summer, the media's here today for some behind-the-scenes coverage of the wedding dress. Don't embarrass me," he said.
"Embarrass you?" I shot back.
I met his gaze, refusing to back down.
"Why don't you bow to me and beg me?" I said, daring him.
Landon was stunned.
I spoke each word slowly and clearly.
"Bow to me and beg me, and maybe I'll consider wearing it," I said.
Of course, Landon didn't bow or beg.
He'd been the golden boy his whole life.
The only son of the Hayes family, heir to a company about to go public.
Even three years ago, when the Hayes family's finances crashed and my father stepped in with 100 million dollars to bail them out, Landon never once saw himself as humbled.
All he ever did was coax me gently, making me feel like I was the center of his world.
He spoiled me so much, I really thought I was someone special to him, loved and cherished.
"Summer," Landon called, his voice strained with anger.
He was struggling to keep his cool.
"With all these people watching, do you really have to do this?" he said.
I ignored him and walked straight into the changing room.
Mia followed me in and helped me unzip the dress.
"Summer, did you overhear something?" she asked.
I looked at her in the mirror.
"What exactly should I have heard?" I replied.
She forced a smile.
"Nothing, really. You're acting kind of weird today," she said.
"Mia," I suddenly called out.
Her hand trembled.
"Did you ever see the jade pendant my mom left me?" I asked.
Mia's expression shifted in a flash.
That jade pendant was my mother's last gift to me before she died.
After I turned eighteen, I kept it stored in the private safe at the Collins Family Estate.
The only people who knew the code were my father and me.
She pulled herself together pretty fast.
"Yeah, you showed me a photo of it before," she said.
"Is that so?" I replied.
I pulled open the door.
Landon was standing outside, talking on the phone.
He sounded impatient.
"I don't know what's gotten into her today," Landon muttered.
"Don't come to the shop yet. Wait for my call."
As soon as he saw me, he hung up.
"It was a work call," he said.
I nodded.
"Okay," I said.
When we walked out of the bridal boutique, Landon wanted to give me a ride home.
I said no.
"The driver's here," I said.
He finally started to look a little panicked.
"Summer, what's going on?" he asked.
If this were before, I would've fallen for the exhaustion in his eyes.
He was always swamped at work, stressed out.
He never knew how to express himself.
I'd always find a million excuses for him.
But now, I had only one question:
"Landon, do you love me?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
He froze for a second, then scoffed, almost amused.
"We're about to get married, and you ask me that?" he replied, sounding almost incredulous.
I stared at him, searching his face, but he never said he loved me.
Not once. Not ever.
My phone buzzed.
I got a text from someone I didn't know.
[Don't go back to the Collins Family Estate.]
[Go to the bank first and check the safe.]
No sender info. It's blank.
But I knew it was her, me from the future.
I told the driver to turn around right away.
On the way to the bank, Landon was blowing up my phone, call after call, nonstop.
I sent every single call straight to voicemail.
When the account manager saw me, he looked kind of awkward.
"Perfect timing, Miss Collins. Three days ago, Mr. Hayes came in asking about combining your finances after the wedding. He said you might let him handle the safe after that," he explained.
My heart sank.
"Did he open the safe?" I asked.
"No, he doesn't have access," the manager replied.
I let out a sigh of relief.
But when the safe door swung open, my heart dropped.
Half the contents were gone.
The jade pendant my mother left me was gone.
And the original copy of her will had vanished, too.
The account manager's face went pale.
"That's impossible. The system shows only you have ever accessed it," he said.
I stared at the records.
Three days ago, at 3:17 PM.
Facial recognition was successful.
ID verification passed.
Authorization signature confirmed.
But that afternoon, I was at the bridal boutique having my makeup trial.
Mia was holding up her phone, smiling at me.
"Summer, don't move. Let me get a profile shot. You look stunning," Mia said.
Turns out, she wasn't taking a photo, she was recording my face.
And my ID? It had been in my bag that day, and I'd handed it to her so she could fill out the bridal boutique's client registration for me.
As for the signature on the authorization form, it matched the handwriting on my wedding invitations exactly.
I pulled out my phone.
"Call 911," I said.
The account manager looked stunned.
I repeated, more firmly.
"Someone impersonated me and stole my mother's jade pendant and her will," I said.
As I finished speaking, Landon's call came through again.
This time, I picked up.